It's the Christmas episode of NCIS tonight, and when the Halloween episode didn't appeal well to critics, you hope tonight's "Faith" is better. For a couple of things, Gibbs' (Mark Harmon) father is making another appearance, and so is Abby's best friend Carol Wilson, to be played by her real-life best friend Meredith Eaton. Don't you like it already?

On the episode, the team tries to solve a case involving a Reverend's son and they soon figure out he may be involved in a hate crime. Gibbs, meanwhile, tries to figure out why his father has a sudden change in behavior right before the holidays. Uh oh. As for Abby, who is obsessed with Christmas, her best friend Carol is on NCIS to grant a child a Christmas wish.

"So we get together to try to do a little manipulating," reveals Perrette to ET. The scheme will involve McGee (Sean Murray). Catch the preview here.